Fox has set a Dec. 25, 2015, release date for the film, a rags-to-riches tale based on the life of Miracle Mop inventor Joy Mangano. A holiday release indicates the studio sees the film as an awards-season contender.

Lawrence, a frequent Russell collaborator, is to play Mangano, the Long Island single-mom-turned-entrepreneur and shopping-network star who built an empire on a plastic mop that could be wrung out without getting one's hands dirty.

Russell will direct from a script by Annie Mumolo, who co-wrote "Bridesmaids."

Lawrence recounted how Russell pitched her on the project during an appearance on "Live With Kelly and Michael" last month.

"He recently texted me at, I think, 4 in the morning, and was like, 'I think I want to make a movie about the woman who invented the [Miracle] Mop. You want to do it?' And I was like, yeah," Lawrence said.

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(By Christy Khoshaba)

She added, "I could just imagine David looking at somebody mopping and being like, 'Yeah, that's my next screenplay.'"